N.H. Jury Rejects Woman’s Rat-Related Stress Claim

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire jury has rejected a woman’s claims that a lemonade manufacturer should be held liable for the emotional distress she suffered after she says she found a dead rat in a can of frozen concentrate.

Fifty-year-old Colleen Grady of Manchester sued the Coca-Cola company — which owns Minute Maid products — saying she found the rodent after pouring the contents into a pitcher before a party two years ago.

But the Hillsborough Superior Court jury swiftly dispensed with her claims — returning a verdict just hours after getting the case.

Coca-Cola representatives maintained there is no way a rodent could have gotten into the frozen concentrate, given its quality control measures, and called the allegations “baseless.”